Daily Photo: Spring Pickles

Asparagus season is in full swing and I scored 5 dozen used canning jars on Craigslist for a fraction of their retail price. So what better way to preserve some spring for later this year? Why pickle it of course!

Neither Mike nor I is a fan of canned veggies, but we’re both pickle fiends. The ones I made last year have been such a big hit that I thought I’d try my hand at pickling some asparagus as well.

I’m a bit concerned that these might not be as good. I used a different brine recipe and they seem a bit wrinkled which I understand to be a symptom of too much salt. Oh well, it didn’t cost much. $15 for the asparagus, $3 for the cider vinegar. The jars were $0.50 each and the fresh dill (garden), salt, peppercorns, cloves and dill seed were all essentially free. Total cost of $22 for 6 quarts of pickled asparagus, so about $3.50 each. Not bad.

Can’t wait to give these a try in a month or so.

If you want to try canning, but the idea makes you nervous, I highly recommend pickles as a first try. They’re easy to make, don’t really need to be put in a water bath (in my humble experience) and are hard to screw up. Give it a try! You can pickle asparagus, green beans, onions, cucumbers and pretty much anything else you want to try your hand at.

I’m traveling this week, so indulge me as I share photos from the last couple of weeks. Also, this week’s One Local Summer West Region recap is now up!